NICS - UK COVID-19 Inquiry response costs

The UK Covid-19 Inquiry was established as an independent public inquiry, chaired by Baroness Hallett to examine the UK’s response to and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and provide us with valuable lessons learned for the future. The Inquiry is unprecedented in its scope, complexity and profile, looking at recent events that have profoundly impacted everyone’s lives. 

NI Departments remain fully committed to transparency throughout the UK Covid-19 Inquiry and will publish the costs associated with responding to the Inquiry. The UK COVID-19 Inquiry publishes its own running costs, with the costs for the 2023/2024 financial year published on 9 May 2024 and costs for Quarter 1 of the 2024/2025 financial year, published on 2 September 2024. 

The NI Department’s response to the Inquiry is a significant undertaking. Ensuring a comprehensive and timely response to the Inquiry requires significant input from a number of key NI departments, including the Executive Office (TEO), the Department of Health (DoH), the Department of Finance (DoF), and the Department for Communities (DfC), many of which are supported by the Departmental Solicitors Office (DSO). 

Figures provided are based on collated departmental costs and should not be considered precise figures for accounting purposes. Despite a robust methodology, complexities remain in quantifying the time and costs dedicated solely to the Inquiry. It is important to note that, the dedicated departmental Inquiry response teams draw on expertise from across their organisations. This includes Senior Civil Servant (SCS) staff engaged in appearing as witnesses, preparing witnesses and their statements and associated policy development work on the Covid Inquiry. The SCS staff time dedicated is substantial and significantly exceed the costs reported in this publication. In some cases, key individual Senior Civil Servants, such as the Chief Medical Officer, are heavily involved in the Inquiry response redirecting them from business-as-usual delivery, to ensure NI Departments fulfil their obligations to the Inquiry. This has necessitated significant out-of-hours requirements to meet deadlines and minimise the impact on the business-as-usual activity. There have been additional consequential demands on other colleagues as a result. These staff costs are not included in the costs outlined below. Spending by arms-length bodies associated with any of the Departments is also not included. 

The costs detailed below encompass only salary for departmental Inquiry response teams and legal costs, excluding incidental expenses, such as travel and subsistence for attending public hearings.

Breakdown of Staff & Costs 

The NI Department’s response to the UK COVID-19 Inquiry is led by Inquiry Response Teams in each department.

• Number of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Team Staff: 48.5 Full Time Equivalents (Q1 24/25)
• Cost of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Team Staff: £679K (Q1 24/25)
• Financial year 2023/24, total cost of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Team staff: £2,282K (42.2 Full Time Equivalents)

Details	2023/24	Quarter 1 2024/25	Cumulative Total
Cost of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Team staff	£2,282k	£679k	£3,916k
Number of UK COVID-19 Inquiry Response Team staff (Full Time Equivalents)	42.2	48.5	43.5

Total Inquiry Response Unit Legal Costs

Inquiry response units across NI Civil Service departments are supported by the Departmental Solicitors Office (DSO), co-partnering firms of solicitors, and legal counsel. These associated legal costs (including internal departmental advisory legal DSO costs) are below.

• Total legal costs: £830k (as of Q1 24/25)
• Financial year 2023/24, total legal costs: £2,635k

Details	2023/24	Quarter 1 2024/25	Cumulative Total
Total Legal Costs	£2,635k	£830k	£3,465k